Core inflation, which is an important measure on which the European Central Bank bases various policy decisions, excludes energy, alcohol, tobacco, and unprocessed food. Yearly core inflation was 1% in January 2018 compared to 0.9% in December 2017. The gradual fall in the Eurozone’s inflation figure is signaling that wage growth is not improving.

Will Qualcomm Acquire NXP—Or Be Acquired by Broadcom? In October 2016, Qualcomm (QCOM) agreed to acquire NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) for $110 per share, valuing the deal at $38 billion. The deal was expected to close by the end of 2017 and to add $10 billion to Qualcomm’s annual revenue.

Will Qualcomm Acquire NXP—Or Be Acquired by Broadcom? Qualcomm’s (QCOM) licensing disputes and the slowdown in smartphone shipments in China have significantly impacted the company’s revenues. Qualcomm manufactures its chips at Samsung’s (SSNLF) foundries.

Eurozone (FEZ) (VGK) investor confidence has shown strong improvement in December 2017. The Sentix Investor Confidence Index is at 32.9 so far in January 2017 as compared to 31.1 in the previous month, beating the market expectation of 31.5. This index is one of the leading indicators of the Eurozone (N100-INDEX) (VGK) (IEV).